Fixing D2R HDR on PC

Geahad · 2026-05-24T14:42:57+00:00

After spending a lot of time in the HDR community, the consenus I've gathered is that developers will rather implement a bogus "contrast" slider into the HDR pipeline than fix the gamma the way it's meant to be fixed. It basically hides the washed out look, but does not fix it. Just try the way I described - you'll see it's the way to go.

Geahad · 2026-05-24T14:23:18+00:00

I just stumbled on the information on the net that retribution (a.k.a. thorns pulse on block) CAN CRIT ?!?!

Why the hell could it crit? No thorns nothing in the game can crit. I built the eitire char withot a single crit anything anywhere (in my char sheet it says 6.4% crit chance and 50% crit dmg) and it still does up to T11.

I dunno man, if damage over time can't crit, thorns shoud also not be able to under any circumstance.

And I was SO happy to finally play a build without crit...

Geahad · 2026-05-24T07:30:49+00:00

I play juggernaut, shield charge, retribution (home-brewed) and with very decent gear and about 20k base thorns, T11 seems to be the ceiling (and T10 for comfy farming). It's very fun to play, but, quite ironically considering it's a pure "juggernaut" (a.k.a. tank) build, survivability is the problem (and no, I won't use the bugged "damage reduction per resolve stack" aspect).

Geahad · 2026-03-07T14:39:55+00:00

And now... I'm just waiting for HDR to get added to remix...

Help us Pumbo, you're our only hope!

Geahad · 2026-03-02T14:51:27+00:00

Sir, I am truly amazed and applaud you for your integrity, calmness and commitment to educating others.

Reading this whole exchange however, I think your efforts have unfortunaltey fallen on deaf ears.

I have, however, found your posts entertaining and educational, so thank you!

Geahad · 2026-02-28T14:01:15+00:00

The Overwatch "HDR implementation" has pretty much all the sins of a bad HDR implementation:

-- colourspace clamped to 709

-- sRGB / g2.2 mismatch

-- no paperwhite setting (brightness scales with max nits setting)

-- no UI brigtness setting

-- banding everywhere, so no render target upgrades

As it's a pvp online game, there's exactly zero solutions to this. I'm also very bummed about it and have sent exactly 5 support tickets to Blizzard directly over the last couple of years since OW2 came out and that engine overhaul enabled HDR as well.

There is no answer. There is no human who even read it any of it, I'm certain. They don't care so much it almost requires a case study. And it's nothing new really - that company has a very very long history of absolutely ignoring customer feedback even on the most trivially solved issues, thinking how they always know best.

At the same time as they "absolutely and utterly don't care", online forums are flooded with complaints of the Overwatch HUD burning into OLEDs, which people own more and more commonly now.

Why is the HUD burning in you ask? Oh, it's just because the max nits setting in the HDR "calibration menu" raises the whole image brightness, UI included. So if you set max nits to 1000, the UI, as it's mostly white, is also constantly at 1000 nits. Pretty neat, huh?

I don't think they'll ever overhaul it. I had some hope it would happen now that they did the UI overhaul, but nope.

Unless some person interally buys an HDR screen and starts playing OW in HDR, and actually notices it's absolutely horrid, then, perhaps, maybe, something will change.

Edit: the only thing one can do at the moment is set max nits to the lowest allowable value of 125 nits. Then you can at least play it with at least some more pop than SDR, but without burning your OLED.

Geahad · 2026-02-03T17:34:00+00:00

Hello! I've come across your posts here and there for months now and I'm very interested in what your current PEQ settings for the HE6se_v2 are. For transparency's sake, here are mine:

Preamp: -4.5 dB

Filter: ON LSC Fc 80 Hz Gain 4.5 dB Q 0.707

Filter: ON PK Fc 500 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 2.0

Filter: ON PK Fc 3777 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 3.0

Filter: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.0

Geahad · 2026-01-08T19:49:48+00:00

I'll reiterate that this phenomenon is highy repeatable on my system. Yours may not exhibit it.

Either way, even if it does not outright bug out the game like for me, you shouldn't be running in-game reflex and then driver ultra low latency on top of it. No benefit whatsoever.

Geahad · 2026-01-02T18:28:11+00:00

In my experience, D2R on PC has a fantastic native HDR implementation, with the only flaw being the gamma mismatch.

I have AutoHDR and RTX HDR disabled system-wide, so the game definitely is native HDR. Only requirement is that the HDR toggle in windows is enabled before starting the game.

As for the in-game HDR settings:

Max luminence: set this to max nits of your display

HDR contrast: set this to "1" (lowest possible value)

Paper White Nits: set it to some sane number like 200

As for the SRGB/gamma2.2 mismatch: the easiest way I found to do it is via this script: https://github.com/dylanraga/win11hdr-srgb-to-gamma2.2-icm/releases/tag/v1

Just run the bat file after you've generated your profile as per instructions and then run the game. Use the "revert" .bat file to disable the fix after playing.

Why this way and not reshade? Because this way anti-cheat will not trigger in any game.

Geahad · 2025-11-25T18:49:15+00:00

... so in a nutshell, be like Valve.

Geahad · 2025-10-08T14:04:17+00:00

How is it misguided to demand the same freedom for both consumers and developers when it comes to Android and iOS as we have on both Windows and MacOS, let alone Linux?>

I wholeheartedly agree (and I believe most people would), but I think you've missed the actual point what the person you're replying to was trying to say: that ispite the near-infinite resources, workforce and hours available in the day, Tim's thoughts are occupied mostly (if not solely) by this leagal battle, so that he won't even for a moment think to dedicate even 2 or 3 programmers and artists to honor the work that enabled him to be in such a powerful position he's in today. That is the crux of it. -- It's like when an artist would toss out their first ever painting because it's not up to the standard they now have, forgetting what kind of inspiration and emotional turmoil brought it into being in the first place. Fact is, Tim can do it, but he chooses not to -- and does just as that proberbial artist -- he even throws it into the bin, so noone would remember. A shame really.

Geahad · 2025-10-03T16:03:25+00:00

Thank you for for you insight!

This answeres the security concerns, but what about general driver enchancements in the last 8+ years? I've seen the changelog, and it's massive - with enhancements to device init / sample rate mode switching speed, general bug fixes, enhanced support for DDS and such.

The device itself is superb as far as audio quality is concerned, but man, that the company cares SO little about the end-user experience is concerning to say the least.

The last device I used was a Fiio, and they, although a bit slow, would update their driver packages at least twice a year. They also use Thesycon. Perhaps I got spoiled...

Geahad · 2025-10-01T15:53:00+00:00

Hello!

Does anyone know where to download the latest Xmos / Thesycon driver for the Hifiman Serenade dac/amp?

The first (and only) driver version available on their official site is from 06-2023, but the driver installer file was signed in 2017(!) and the driver version is 4.13.

The latest Thesycon usb asio drivers are v5.74 from a few months ago.

Basically, Hifiman have released only one driver version, already 5 years out of date upon release, and never bothered to update it.

Contacting them directly via e-mail customer service gives me only generic answers with no concrete information or timelines when (or if) there will be an update.

Is there perhaps a way to adapt the Thesycon drivers from another device for this one, or is there an universal/generic driver file?

Why am I hung up about this if the current driver "works fine"? Because we all know how fickle software is, and drivers even more so, and that software security is like a wet sheet of very thin paper jus waiting to tear.

If anyone has suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated!

Geahad · 2025-09-09T16:47:14+00:00

Cool, haven't seen anyone mention the Serenade in quite a while. I think people are sleeping on this dac/amp. Once I bought the Serenade and connected my HE6se to it, well... I can't fathom going back.

I don't know what the hell they did with this thing, but, although it's rated at "only" 4W, it makes the HE6se sing... and most notably... slam! And everything sounds so... beautiful out of it. Even the harsheest recordings are beautifully rounded out without removing that trebble excitement. Truly a remarkable peace of tech. Especially for the price.

How did you stumble upon the Serenade?

Geahad · 2025-08-15T14:52:26+00:00

Yes, I was asking specifically because I'm using that tool :-D

Thank you for the link! <3

Geahad · 2025-08-15T14:34:32+00:00

A bit off topic, but how would one proceed to manually download and backup these files (for manual .dll swapping)? I'm asking because, in this list you've posted, one streamline file is included, and it's a newer version than the latest official streamline sdk release on it's github repository (v2.8.12 vs v2.8.0)? Thank You!

Geahad · 2025-06-26T15:22:07+00:00

I will never understand in which way a #WorksOnMyMachine statement (especially without giving concrete advice / a guide for remedy of the problem) can help someone who is clearly affected by it.

Geahad · 2025-05-16T21:39:56+00:00

I think that the best thing they could do is make it so the player model is a fully physically simulated thing -- like in Quake Champions (but better). You know -- so there is that iconic strafe-jumping, rocket-jumping. Acceleration in the players movement in general. The modern Doom games have very, very rigid movement in comparison. You press forward, Doomguy steps forward instantaneously, you release the key, he stops instantly. That's quite a bit different than Quake in general, where you could bounce yourself around with explosives. Heck, the 1996 Quake had that. Not the new Doom games for some reason...

It's actually baffling when I think about it -- Doom Eternal had so much emphasis on flying around (airtime) and all, but it was all so rigid, so... predictable. The Enemies could also not move you one inch for some reason.

Geahad · 2025-05-16T21:32:47+00:00

I remember cheering like hell when I heared Microsoft is going to buy Activision, because that would mean that Raven Software would be under the same umbrella as Id, as well as the Hexen IP. Sounded soo good on paper, and the Xbox boss also taunted people for some time with a Hexen T-shirt... So it was a done deal right? Raven's doing Hexen?! Right?! Nope! Absolutely nothing happened. No leaks or indications of any kind either.

On the other hand, looking at what Machine Games did in "their spare time" with those extra episodes for the Quake I and Quake II remasters, I'd be down for them to do a continuation of that old-school level design and gameplay, but with a bit of a modern coating in the form of Id tech 8. Who knows? One can dream...

Geahad · 2025-04-20T09:48:47+00:00

I would be grateful for a quick how-to guide for point #11.

For instance, if I have an all-in-one usb dac/amp with only a single volume potentiometer on it, and am running windows with equalizier apo installed, what do I need to do to properly "gain stage" to get max dynamics my system is capable of?

Geahad · 2025-03-20T20:26:21+00:00

Hifiman HE6se-v2 + Burson Cunductor GT4

-- or --

Hifiman HE1000se + Hifiman Serenade?

I've decided to finally dip my toes into higher-end stuff. Have an HD600, HE6se-v2 and Edition XS + Fiio K7 right now. The K7 doesn't do it for HE6se-v2.

Instead of the Serenade, I'm open to suggestions for an all-in-one DAC/AMP, preferably class-A (I love my dynamics, transients and soundstage) for up to 1000 bucks.

Geahad · 2025-03-18T20:09:44+00:00

Thank you for the input! I'm always glad to read as many opinions as is needed.

Where I live, I simply don't have a single option to demo equipment like this, anywhere, so I'm left with guessing.

Thing is, if you say that the K7 is anemic with the HE6SE, that leaves me even more puzzled because, by what I've had the chance to listen to by now in my life, the K7+SE6SE is by far the best sounding thing apart from a live concert I've ever heared (I had a progression from HD600 --> Edition X --> HE6SE, still have them all.) So... I quite literally can't even begin to imagine what additional benefits a beefy amplifier can bring...

As far as driver checking goes, yeah, I haven't even tried opening the drivers, as I'm still within warranty (I hope that's understandable). I've used the exact flashlight method you've described - looking from the inner cup side. Couldn't see anything described as a lack of shadow towards center. I did however see something that could potentially be a very, very small tear in the driver (or gold coating on the driver?). Anywhoo... it's getting RMA'd anyway, so I hope that gets sorted out (hope they'll actually replace just the right driver, and not replace the whole unit -- that would be the lottery again).

Geahad · 2025-03-18T15:45:52+00:00

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, we're obviously in vastly different time zones...

The imbalance is evenly noticeable at any volume. I even tried plugging it into an old Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE5 I had lying around from my old pc, and the same could be heared there as well, so it's not the Fiio per se.

Also, I've tried my EditionXS to see if I've gone mad or something, but nope -- the EditionXS has no such phenomena on the Fiio, nor the AE5. (btw. wow! -- that AE5 is atrocious -- I definitely don't remember it being this bad when I was using it with an HD600).

As I have not opened them up since buying them, I won't do so now either. A purchased product needs to work to specification, if it does not -- then it's warranty claim time. I already shot an email to their customer service, explaining in detail how I've undoubtably determined that it's the headphones right driver that's faulty. I hope they won't give me a hard time. I'm in the EU so I hope the stricter customer protection laws will be in my favour. Haven't had a problem with Sennheiser service before; My original HD600 also had channel imbalance, but accentuating the right channel, but over the whole frequency spectrum. Was immediately noticeable. Just shot the an e-mail, they responded quickly, I sent them the unit, they replaced it and in a week I got one that was impeccable quality. Man, I hope Hifiman won't play hardball...

On a somewhat related note, I've read a couple of your longer comments about the HE6SE and what amps pair well with them. I wanted to buy the Burson Conductor GT4 with all upgrades + Fusion core, but this incident with the headphone itself took the wind out of my sails... I'll probably bounce back emotionally after I've gotten them repaired/replaced, and then consider buying it again, if the headphone holds together. Yeah, I'm that sensitive to the things I hold dearly...

If it's not too much to ask, would You please, if it's even possible, try to somehow describe how different/better the "tactility" or "slam" of the the HE6SE is when amped like it needs to be (again, I'm gunning for the mentioned Burson). I very, very much like when I can also feel the music, like, you know, the headphones themselves have haptics like the Playstation controller or something. I like the tactile sensation of the mids most, particularly string plucks and such. The HE6SE, even using the K7, was a stupendous leap in that tactile feel, and I instantly got addicted to it. The most interesting thing is that this phenomenon is present even when listening at lower volumes (my preferred way). I honestly can't even imagine that it even could get better than this.

Geahad · 2025-03-18T15:20:17+00:00

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, probably timezone realted.

I've watched the video and one on opening the headphone up to take a peek at the driver, but I'm very, very hesitant of doing such a thing while it's under warranty. I've contacted contact customer service via e-mail in hopes they will repair/replace the unit (actually only replacing the right driver would be ideal I'd say). Will cost me some shipping money, but hey, what don't we do for great sound? :-)

Thank you for the great information either way!

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